Monthly Archives: June 2013

Aoma

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AOMA
details & photos ex Ken Ricketts
36 ft long, circa 10 ft 6″ beam, built of 2 skins of Kauri, one full length,  & one diagonal, by Alan Williams, at Milford Creek, circa 1950, either built for, or bought, when almost new, by Len Pepper of Lake Rd Takapuna, a substantial building contractor of the day.
A beautiful example of Alan Williams work, with a low profile, & real balance & individuality in her exterior styling.
One thing however they sacrificed a little headroom for the low profile, & taller people would have to bend a little inside her. She had a very “open plan” layout with open bulkheads, from one section of the boat to another, with the engine under a box in the centre of the bridgedeck, fairly well forward, as indicated by the side exhaust outlet, in the above pic I took, circa 1951.
Sadly, from the perspective of  lovely low profile & aesthetic balance, she has been “modified” through the years with the combings raised & the beautiful varnish work now long since painted (such a shame, in my view, as the varnished combings gave all classic boats such character, as perhaps many would agree), & whilst still fairly recognisable, unfortunately, her beautiful lines have been lost, also the addition of a flying bridge did not help.
She was originally powered by an 8 cyl in line, Buick petrol engine, with a label on the side push rod cover, saying, “Buick Detroit Marine,” however notwithstanding the label, I feel it may well have been added, by the person, or people, who actually marinised the engine, as a “one off,” as I have never seen or heard of another one.
The current engine, when I last saw her, about 1 &1/2 years ago, was a 6 cyl Ford Diesel, & she was living at Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island, being used, more or less, just as transport, & for a little fishing, by a family living there.  She could have done with some TLC at that time.
I know she belonged to a plumbing contractor in the mid 1980s, as I was aboard her, at Mansion House Bay wharf, at Kawau Island, one day, when he was the owner.

Nov 2013- Ken Ricketts Update – She has been owned for many years by “Bruno” A Swiss gentleman & his wife, who live at Port Fitzroy Gt Barrier Island & as you can see, in the “before & now”  pics., she has sadly had very substantial changes & has lost the “bloom of youth,” she had, when I took the first pics In 1951.

One intersting thing I picked up on, in my recent inspection is, that she is built of 2 opposite diagonal skins of Kauri, which is not that common & is different from her sister ship Juanita, which the outer skin fore & aft & the inner skin diagonal which is more usual.

The colour photos was taken on the hard stand at Gulf Harbour (Nov 2013) where she is presently having a little TLC.

The present owners use her for transport to & from their home & Bruno also goes fishing of a few days at a time from time to time to the Broken Islands, Kawau, etc., & enjoys living aboard & cruising in the usual way, as well as the essential transport aspect. He has owned for around 20 years.

Updated photo 15/01/2015 ex Colin Pawson

Updated photo 15/01/2015. This ones an Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta photo, the 18 footers race, ex the National Libarary. Ex Nathan Herbert.

 

15-03-2016 photos below ex Ken Ricketts, hauled out at Gulf Harbour. Looking a lot smarter post her visit to Geoff Bagnall’s yard.

 

At Gulf Harbour – Dec 2020 – photos ex K Ricketts

Mapu

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MAPU

Story & photos by Mark Lane

Built in 1914 by Lane Motor Boat Company for TM Lane and Sons who were timber millers in Totara North, 30′ x 7′.6″  She was taken north to Whangaroa.  She was a classic flat decker and I am not sure with what she was origonally powered with other than it was an air cooled motor.

My grandfather Clarence Lane (son of Thomas Major Lane) who was instrumental in setting up the Lane Motor Boat Company) went away on his honeymoon on Mapu in 1916   She was originaly built as a pleasure and workboat where her role primarily towing logs out of the local rivers and towing barges a role she filled over the next 30-40 year.

In 1939 she came back to Auckland to be repowered with a Scrips marine conversion of a Hercules truck motor producing 110hp.  This made her the fastest boat on the whangaroa harbour pulling around 22-24 knots

During the war she acted as the supply boat for the local gun emplacement at the heads of the Whangaroa Harbour and also towed for them targets between the heads and Stephenson Island.  My father Trevor Lane (son of Clarence) used her for crayfishing around this time as well. She was re-fastened in 1950.

By the 1960,s she was primarly a pleasure boat used by my father and his brother and their families for fishing picnicing etc.   In the 1970 she was repowered with a Fordson deisel  but by the mid 1980s she was largely unused and stored intially in a boatshed on the Lane and Sons property and subsequently in the tide in the “barge shed” where her seams having opened so much the tide came in and out of her.

In the late 1990,s Lane and Sons was being wound up and I brought her in an as is where is state.  Thus I am the 4th generation of my family to own her….

Trevor Ford (son of Sam Ford and a retired boatbuilder from the Lane Motor Boat Company) assessed her and undertook to rebuild her.  He showed me a hand-drawn picture of Mapu with a cabin and dodger and then proceeded to rebuild and repower her.  The project took him over three years in a barn on his property in the Bombay hills.

She was repowered with a Nanni convesion of a Kubota deisel (50 hp)

She was relaunched in 2003.  She heads north  in summer to Whangaroa her “home” for then retrns to Auckland at the beginning of winter and is berthd in Pine Harbour Marina.  She competed in the 2008 Rudder Cup race around sail rock and came second in her division.

Cruising speed  is 8.2 knots and full speed about 9.7-10.4knots depending on the cleanliness of her hull!!!.

I suspect the owner of Raindance will acknowledge she is pretty quick for her size and power.. (edited – the owner of Raindance hopes the CYA launch handicapper reads waitematawoodys 🙂  )